Clean Air

Dirty air exacerbates asthma and shortens lives. Earthjustice is protecting national air quality and defending impacted communities from toxic pollution because we all have a right to breathe clean, healthy air.

CLEAN AIR ISN’T AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.

One in three Americans lives in communities where air is unsafe to breathe because of pollution. Dirty air persists because some polluters refuse to clean up toxic air emissions, despite the availability of proven pollution control technology. We suffer the consequences with needless heart ailments, lung disease, asthma attacks, cancer, and shortened lives.

WE’RE MAKING IT EASIER TO BREATHE.

Over the past two decades, Earthjustice has fought—and won—dozens of Clean Air Act cases to ratchet up public health protections and hold polluters accountable. Unfortunately, far too many Americans are still breathing dirty air and suffering the consequences. Our fight continues.

"Children die of asthma. I'm a parent. I just can't imagine losing your child to asthma. I can't imagine losing your child at all, but losing a child unnecessarily because we can't be bothered to clean up pollution? That's just incredible to me." – Jim Pew, Staff Attorney, Washington, D.C. Office

Spotlight Features

The EPA is under court order to take action to limit the amount of smog allowed into the air. Listening sessions were conducted across the country on the proposed ozone standards. These are stories from the hearing held in Sacramento, CA.

Millions of Americans suffer from asthma. However, most people don't know how brutal it is to live with the disease. Breathing is a fundamental right, yet every day air pollution affects our right to breathe clean air.

Oil refineries emit egregious amounts of toxic air pollution that seriously jeopardizes the health of people who live nearby. Earthjustice is representing many of these fenceline communities in a lawsuit to get oil refineries to clean up their dirty ways.

In 2013, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit demanding that the EPA finally take action on overdue standards for ozone—also known as smog—an air pollutant linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths, emergency room visits and asthma attacks each year.

Earthjustice litigation, on behalf of public health and environmental groups, spurred the Obama administration to set strong new standards for soot pollution—the first significant update since 1997. The new standards will annually prevent as many as 15,000 premature deaths and reduce health costs by $118 billion.

Also in this Section

Number of letters sent by Earthjustice supporters to Congress in support of citizens from all 50 states who traveled to Washington D.C. in 2013 to meet with elected officials and policymakers in defense of our right to breathe clean air.